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I have to comment, though, if I were the BO I would be upset if a boarder involved themselves in an emergency with another horse in a manner that put them at risk for accident or injury. Oliverreed, I'm not criticizing what you did, I just trying to offer up a different perspective, something for people to think about. (And your situation may have had some different dynamics given the potential for a horse to get out on the road.)

I do occasionally board difficult horses and/or stallions and if we have a "situation" whether it is a cast horse, a loose horse, an injured horse, a difficult horse with a blanket half-off, whatever, I expect a phone call to alert me or my staff so that we can take care of it. I'd be very upset if one of my adult ammie boarders tried to catch a difficult young stallion that got loose. Why? First of all, my staff are insured professionals who know the horses and know how to handle difficult horses and difficult horse situations. Their actions are covered under my insurance policies. A third party boarder (who is probably an amateur) handling a horse they don't know is much more likely to have trouble with the horse and/or get injured themselves in the process.

There also is a liability issue--if you handle someone else's horse, you could potentially be blamed by the owner if the horse ends up injured, OR, if you are injured you could potentially hold my farm or the horse's owner responsible. Basically, it opens me and the owner of the horse up to potential liability.

Lastly, I have seen on occasion kind-hearted boarders attempt to do very dangerous and foolish things to help a horse (often things that don't even help). I'm sorry, but liability aside I do not want ANYONE--client or employee--getting hurt! Those situations where a horse is panicked or behaving aggressively can be quite dangerous and sometimes the correct thing to do is to stop and come up with a safer solution, and my employees know that. I've also seen clients do things (with the best of intentions) that make the situation worse.

Oliver Reed, I am glad you, the other women, and the geldings are okay! I worked on a ranch where the stud was a sweet, loving guy but even the head wrangler was very attentive around him, and there were a lot of fencing/precautions in place so he did NOT get out and mess with the dude stock. I also boarded at a barn where we all turned each others horses in and out, and one girl had a gelding who would spin and cow kick out at the handler when he was being turned out. Really not fun (as the owner did not see it as a problem, thought he was "playing", they moved on).

I hope the horse's OWNER was grateful, and maybe gets a clue. A horse is in fact a horse and if he was genuinely charging aggressively, that wasn't because he was a stallion, it's because someone's taught him to be a brat and that people are scared of him. The barn staff/other boarders/BO/trainers should not be taking their lives in their hands because someone thinks having an intact male is teh awesome and lets him act like an idiot.

BeeHoney, what would you have done? Or any of you who are professionals and handle stallions routinely? Grab a mare in heat and lure him away? She tried grain. How do you handle this exact situation ( no perimeter fence, aggressive stallion trying to fight over the fence and loose).

NO horse in a boarding barn should be considered "THAT" dangerous. If he is, he needs to #1 be removed and/or #2 Gelded. The appropriate inscision for such a horse is best located right behind the ears!! Glad no one got hurt. We've had stallions for 40+ years and only one...a boarder was like that...and we threw him out!!!

BeeHoney, what would you have done? Or any of you who are professionals and handle stallions routinely? Grab a mare in heat and lure him away? She tried grain. How do you handle this exact situation ( no perimeter fence, aggressive stallion trying to fight over the fence and loose).

While I get what BeeHoney was saying, I don't think any one of us would realistically sit there and watch a dangerous stallion rampage around the property, potentially injuring people and other horses, and not do anything but wait for the barn owner/employee to show up. (It doesn't sound like this is a 24/7 staffed barn.)

My go-to would be the grain as well, and I'd certainly grab a lunge whip. Then, if I didn't want to handle the horse, it would be all about trying to get him contained somehow...either back into the ring, into a stall in the barn (or heck, even the aisleway if the doors could be shut), or an empty paddock.

What the OP did sounds like it was the best course of action. It's unfortunate that there is a horse on her property who makes people genuinely afraid for their safety.

a horse is a horse is a horse... intact or not doesn't make THAT much difference. I agree that it shouldn't happen, but your paranoia that HE COULD KILL SOMEONE- heck -ANY horse could KILL someone.

You must be a boarder... you have boarder mentality. I mean that as nice as possible. Perhaps some horsemanship lessons would go a long way to bolster your confidence for the rare and extreme situation that you might have to handle a horse other than your own.

wow...someone piss in your wheaties this morning?
Glad YOU could have handled the wild unruly stallion so easily...

However don't diss the stallion completely, in my experience when loose they play up..because they already know they are in trouble.. add (and just my opinion but...) novice handlers who do sound like they were scared.. (and why wouldn't you be) and you have a drama.

[I well remember the day I jumped as a duck flew from under my foot, rolled my ankle and let stallion go.. free (at last!) he proceeded to behave like a prized prat while I hobbled after him cursing and thanking the lord no one was there to see]

To the OP, glad everyone was safe and fortunately someone was there to help.

I worked a a breeding farm where we routinely had 6 or 7 young stallions, there was only one stallion safe pen so not much turnout. I arrived at work several times to find a certain stallion out of his stall (owner had left stall unlatched). Each time this stallion ran around like a wild man and attempted to break through the mares fence OR go after the lone gelding on the property. Twice He did manage to break down the gelding fence and proceeded to "try to kill" the gelding. There was no way for me, alone, to contain or catch the stud. I called BO and he chased him down with an ATV and cornered him in a back paddock.

Some stallions literally lose their minds when loose and free and can get super aggressive. Not a smart move for a boarding barn to have an aggressive stallion on the property.

I think OP and other boarders need to discuss this problem w/ BO and if nothing changes I'd move my horse.

I don't think any one of us would realistically sit there and watch a dangerous stallion rampage around the property, potentially injuring people and other horses, and not do anything but wait for the barn owner/employee to show up.

This is why I posted what I posted. I think the concept of "doing nothing" is really hard for people to consider, but sometimes it is the right thing to do.

As a BO, I appreciate the "pitch in and help" mentality, but let's just stop and think about the OP's situation. How much help is it to go out and "help" catch a horse you aren't capable of handling if you caught it? Probably not much. And what are the risks of helping, where an aggressive stallion is concerned? Potentially pretty serious.

I get it that stallions fighting over the fence is scary and dangerous, but that is something I would NEVER want one of my clients to get in the middle of. As a BO and as a human being, I'd much rather get a call that there was a loose stallion rampaging around my farm than a call that one of my clients had been seriously hurt trying to deal with it.

I'm NOT criticizing or judging OliverReed. Our OP handled the situation to the best of her ability and I certainly wasn't there. The risk of a horse getting out on a public road definitely added urgency to catching the horse. Plus, after the fact analysis is a lot easier than heat of the moment decision-making.

IME, the best way to catch an aggressive/difficult loose horse/stallion is a single, experienced, familiar handler who acts like the whole situation is no big deal. With one or two helpers staying back who can block driveways/danger areas, open/close gates or barn doors, alert other people on the farm so they can stay out of the way, and be ready to call for help or the vet. Sometimes patience and letting things cool down a minute is necessary. Sometimes chasing the horse on an ATV to a safer area of the farm might be appropriate, sometimes any kind of chasing might panic a horse and send it through a fence. The thought of trying to use a sacrificial mare in heat to catch an aggressive stallion is really scary, but people who are trying to help sometimes have ideas like this--ideas that could turn a bad situation into a nightmare.

If he is that aggressive then it is not the right facility for that horse. I took a stallion from a friend who was just a doll. Easy to handle, not studish etc. But moving him to my place, which has almost all mares, and hers had almost all geldings, was not a good move for him. When the mares came into heat, he turned into a bit of an a**. Due to having boarders, and students, I had to make the decision to give him back to my friend. Which was such a shame. He was happy to have larger area to be turned out in, and I was having such a blast riding him. BUT the safety of my students and boarders was more important. Now that he is back to the old place he is back to his normal mellow self.

IME, the best way to catch an aggressive/difficult loose horse/stallion is a single, experienced, familiar handler who acts like the whole situation is no big deal. With one or two helpers staying back who can block driveways/danger areas, open/close gates or barn doors, alert other people on the farm so they can stay out of the way, and be ready to call for help or the vet. Sometimes patience and letting things cool down a minute is necessary.

^^This is exactly how we handle the occasional jailbreak. Mind you, our stallions get turnout time, and usually with the other boys, so they aren't interested in picking a fight with the ones they get to see frequently. But stuff happens. The main thing that's a thrill for them is being able to run to the fenceline at the broodmare paddock and do a little shameless self-promotion. But we have a perimeter fence as well as stout cross-fencing, so I have the luxury of waiting for the blueberry-bearing fool to wear down a little before I walk up, tell him he's a ninny and take him back in. We've only ever had one get out that was truly difficult to catch and who was staging a private party for a neighbors Thoroughbred mares. In that case, rather than risk one of the mares injuring herself running the fenceline, my husband opted to rope the stallion. Not recommended if you don't know what you are doing, but he does.

Again, none of this applies when you are dealing with a human- or horse-aggressive stallion. If it could be done safely and one were empty I'd try to drive him into a paddock or arena and leave him there until the BO or owner arrived.

As a BO, I appreciate the "pitch in and help" mentality, but let's just stop and think about the OP's situation. How much help is it to go out and "help" catch a horse you aren't capable of handling if you caught it? Probably not much. And what are the risks of helping, where an aggressive stallion is concerned? Potentially pretty serious.

THIS.... if you were scared for your life and your horse was safe... lock your fool butt in your car and call the BO. I know more than a few BOs who had horses injuried severly because a boarder or other person who had no business "helping" handled things badly when they should have gotten out of the way.

^^This is exactly how we handle the occasional jailbreak. Mind you, our stallions get turnout time, and usually with the other boys, so they aren't interested in picking a fight with the ones they get to see frequently. But stuff happens. The main thing that's a thrill for them is being able to run to the fenceline at the broodmare paddock and do a little shameless self-promotion. But we have a perimeter fence as well as stout cross-fencing, so I have the luxury of waiting for the blueberry-bearing fool to wear down a little before I walk up, tell him he's a ninny and take him back in. We've only ever had one get out that was truly difficult to catch and who was staging a private party for a neighbors Thoroughbred mares. In that case, rather than risk one of the mares injuring herself running the fenceline, my husband opted to rope the stallion. Not recommended if you don't know what you are doing, but he does.

Again, none of this applies when you are dealing with a human- or horse-aggressive stallion. If it could be done safely and one were empty I'd try to drive him into a paddock or arena and leave him there until the BO or owner arrived.

Yup... THIS.

and by horsemanship lessons... I had more in mind. "what do to in an emergency kind of lessons." You should NEVER be in fear of your life, no horse is worth that... if you are in fear for your life, get your life the hec out of the way and let someone who is responcible for the problem deal with it.